Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

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EVENTS

The Worldnutdaily’s Latest Smear Job

The Worldnutdaily specializes in two things: fake “adverticles” that are really just ads for books they’re selling wrapped around a flimsy “news” item, and articles that are little more than long, detailed examples of the argumentum ad labelum. This piece is a perfect example, a long article that does nothing more than apply the label of “liberal” to a voting rights group — along with a scary headline, of course.

WILL THIS DEVIOUS GROUP STEAL YOUR VOTE?
Find out who’s behind massive assault in key states before election

ZOMG! Someone is going to steal our votes! Who is it? The Advancement Project, a group that does really good work in defending voting rights around the country. But there’s nothing at all in the article that even suggests how they might steal anyone’s vote. Instead, the article is just a long series of attempts to paint the group as liberal, as if this alone proves the spooky conclusion in their headline. Here are their arguments:

1. The Advancement Project has filed lawsuits — successful ones, by the way — against voter ID laws.

2. They’ve fought to have voting rights reinstated for those convicted of a crime after they’ve served the penalty for those crimes.

3. One of their leaders criticized the Arizona immigration law that was largely struck down by the Supreme Court.

4. They filed a brief in a lawsuit brought by ACORN to help those displaced by Hurricane Katrina to still be able to vote.

5. Some of the group’s leaders have contributed to the Obama campaign.

6. They’ve been funded by George Soros (cue the Darth Vader theme music).

That’s it. Nothing at all to substantiate the accusation that they are “devious” or that they have done anything at all to steal anyone’s votes. In fact, the article lists lawsuits filed by the group to ensure the right to vote in many states. This isn’t news, it’s propaganda.

Jesus Himself created democracy so that tha right people could vote for the right candidates and for the right reasons. That’s why it’s called the right wing. To do the right thing. Preserving the rights of the right people. Right?

That’s it. Nothing at all to substantiate the accusation that they are “devious” or that they have done anything at all to steal anyone’s votes. In fact, the article lists lawsuits filed by the group to ensure the right to vote in many states. This isn’t news, it’s propaganda.

How is this different from their position on SS? “If they can vote (get married) it will devalue my vote (marriage).”

I’m amazed by how much of right-wing propaganda is little more than a simple inversion of the victims and the perpetrators. In this case, people who have a hard time voting because of arbitrary barriers placed in their way are the bad guys, and those trying to stop them from voting are the aggrieved. With that narrative established, cue righteous indignation and outrage. Move on to the next issue, rinse and repeat.

I’m starting to get the feeling that many on the right see democracy as a problem that needs to be worked around.

I’m kidding, of course. They’ve believed that for a long time now.

Giving them fair credit, few of them think Democracy ought to be gotten rid of altogether. Many just believe, implicitly or much more rarely explicitly, that it ought to be limited to people like them.

The idea is old, the Founding fathers obviously limited democracy to certain types of stakeholders. Even the worst republican advocates rarely say they think women and minorities ought not have the right to vote, but its not uncommon to see suggestions that perhaps only land owners or people paying taxes ought to have the right to vote.